All prior art bed-tents consist of some sort of a fabric-covered pole structure which rests on the top surface of a conventional bed mattress. Prior art bed-tents utilize semi-rigid, bowed poles which place the cover or canopy under tension; the tension is provided by bending the support poles and securing them with a canopy which is attached to the mattress. Bed-tents have enjoyed commercial success but have always presented problems of various types.
One of the principal problems with prior art bed-tents is that associated with erecting them as the user must be familiar with an exacting set-up procedure. The process begins with unpacking a folded stack of segmented poles and an enormous, bewildering canopy; the finished set-up shape is completely unrecognizable. Prior art bed-tents require the poles and canopy to be assembled simultaneously: poles of different lengths are threaded through a series of fabric sleeves or the like attached to part of the canopy. Choosing the correct pole for the correct sleeve makes this an unforgiving process and only after the last pole is wrestled into place does the bed-tent neaten and its shape finally become apparent. It is no surprise that the instruction manuals for prior art bed-tents caution, “Adult assembly required.”
Further complicating the set-up procedure, all prior art bed-tents place the flexible poles inside the canopy, where access is limited during set-up and assembly. Original bed-tent U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,598 describes, “elongated flexible frame members adapted to support said canopy means over said mattress when positioned between said top surface of said mattress and said canopy means.” Erecting such bed-tents requires adults to climb inside the partially supported, quavering canopy while securing the internal pole structure in an exact position. As most adults cannot fit inside prior art bed-tents, which are designed to attach to a child's twin size mattress, the torments above are greatly multiplied.
Ease of set-up is a crucial consideration for adults purchasing toys such as a bed-tent. In short, parents generally will not tolerate difficult or time-consuming assembly of toy products and frequently return a product to the retailer if assembly is complex. Present day bed-tents suffer the conspicuous liability of an extraordinarily high returns percentage. Most bed-tents are currently sold through mail-order outlets which offer generous return privileges; traditional retailers no longer distribute the prior art product.
Attempts have been made to simplify the task of erecting the bed-tent. U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,956 proved too difficult to assemble because of an integrated canopy and fitted sheet which attached to the mattress. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,598 eliminated the integral fitted sheet and thus simplified the set-up procedure but only to a small degree.